Charlotte Fry and Nespresso. Image: Digishots.
Charlotte Dujardin and Alive and Kicking Win their Debut, Charlotte’s on top of podium
With a score of 76.605% it was Charlotte Fry who took the win in the 3* Grand Prix Freestyle presented by Paardensport Vlaanderen at CDI Lier 2024.
Speaking on their performance, Charlotte was quick to praise Nessie “(he) felt really good in there. There was a bit more atmosphere today and it was nice to feel he was enjoying it.”
“It’s a freestyle he has never done before, and it’s actually not his freestyle, so, it wasn’t fitting 100%, but he did everything so well. It’s only his second ever international Grand Prix, I’m very proud of him. He really enjoyed himself and so did I.” The 15-year-old son by Negro, is Charlotte Fry’s fifth Grand Prix horse at the moment.
Gaining experience
When asked about her future plans with Nespresso, Charlotte admits she hasn’t thought about it too much. “We just wanted to see how it went here, and it went quite well. So, we will just carry on gaining some more experience with him and going to some more CDI’s I guess.” The British rider, who’s based in The Netherlands and riding at Van Olst Horses is very grateful. “I’m in a very nice position, it’s amazing all the horses I get to ride. It is a very lucky position and it’s great to come out to shows like this and give the horses experience to prepare for the really big ones.”
Podium 3* Freestyle
The second place was won by the Swedish Malin Wahlkamp-Nilsson and Zackson. The 10-years-old son of Blue Hors Zack scored 76.020%. Carina Scholz and Quinto became third, scoring 72.470%.
Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) with Alive and Kicking. Image: Digishots
Charlotte Dujardin wins the 3* Grand Prix Special
The 3* Grand Prix Special was another class that did not dissapoint spectators. Securing a double victory, it was again Alive and Kicking and Charlotte Dujardin who took the win in the Special. This time with a score of 75.192%, the 9-years-old daughter of All At Once showed the judges her quality.
Semmieke Rothenberger and Flanell (s.Apache) came in second with a score of 74.426%. The German rider did a very good job ending between such great names. Patrik Kittel and Jovian took the third place with a score of 73.298%.
Australian Success
Following a successful day on Saturday with Australian’s Lyndal Oatley and Jayden Brown both finishing in the top ten in the CDI4* Grand Prix, Jayden Brown and Willinga Park Quincy B contested the Grand Prix Special last night to recieve 69.958%.
Jayden shared the below to social media:
“Quincy felt amazing again today and has blown me away with how much more he is trying in the ring as his confidence grows. I pushed a little too much in the GPS and had two costly mistakes but I couldn’t be happier with how our scores are trending now and he’s growing in strength and confidence with every show.”
Draws and results can be found here.
Press release by Belgium Dressage Events and edited by Equestrian Life
04 March 2024
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